Ask HN: How can I quit talking myself out of my own ideas?

I'm sure this is common amongst us developers with ideas. I come up with new ideas for websites all the time. Most of the time I will have 2-3 ideas a week. I will usually invest several hours into each idea. If I know enough to jump right into code, I will. Otherwise I start by researching for the idea.

Most of my ideas I am initially excited about. If I'm lucky then I may even be genuinely positive that the idea is "going to work". But, just like clockwork, I eventually begin to doubt the idea and usually end up dropping it. This usually occurs the day or so after the inception of the idea.

Usually, my reasoning for dropping an idea is that it seems so useless and minor in the grand scheme of things. I try to picture people using the product and it actually making their life better in some way. This is obviously not an easy thing to do.

I think that over the years I've trained myself to be my own worst critic. I'll let myself get engulfed in an idea right away, but then I always take a step back and criticize the unpolished idea to the point where I convince myself that it's useless.

What are some things that help you all remain optimistic and excited about an idea?

Two checkpoints I've used in the past:

1. If an idea sounds promising, I try to forget about it for a while (say a month) and if it's still a good idea after the wait, then I go for it.

Usually this means that I really have that problem and it needs fixing. So I build it.

If not, I've only lost a few brain cells. No harm done.

2. I launch, and if it works and gets people excited, then I'm really onto something.

If not, shut it down.

Note that these checkpoints allow you to back track or drop the idea. No need to keep flogging a dead horse.

solidify your concept right away... work with a friend whose an artist/designer have the person make your concept palpable.

And try to get other people excited too.

There's not really any trick to it. You just pick one and build it anyways. At some point you will think it's a waste of time and useless. Just keep going, the hardest part is pretending to be jazzed about it when discussing it with others, but it's essential that you keep pretending it's awesome until you are excited about it again (or it's done, whatever comes first).

I think the key problem statement in your post is "I will usually invest several hours into each idea". You really need to put in several hundred hours before you can tell if something is worth it or not. The "excited" phase is really just a tiny fleeting moment in a project's lifespan.

In reality, projects are rarely clear flops or wild successes. People love describing them that way because it makes a great story, but it's a myth.